The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Oh-oh, Alabama
The devil fools with the best laid plan
Swing low, Alabama
You got the spare change
You got to feel strange
And now the moment is all that it meant
Alabama, you got the weight on your shoulders
That's breaking your back
Your Cadillac has got a wheel in the ditch
And a wheel on the track
Oh, Alabama
Banjos playing through the broken glass
Windows down in Alabama
See the old folks tied in white ropes
Hear the banjo
Don't it take you down home?
Alabama, you got the weight on your shoulders
That's breaking your back
Your Cadillac has got a wheel in the ditch
And a wheel on the track
Oh-oh, Alabama
Can I see you and shake your hand?
Make friends down in Alabama
I'm from a new land
I come to you and see all this ruin
What are you doing Alabama?
You got the rest of the union to help you along
What's going wrong?
The devil fools with the best laid plan
Swing low, Alabama
You got the spare change
You got to feel strange
And now the moment is all that it meant
Alabama, you got the weight on your shoulders
That's breaking your back
Your Cadillac has got a wheel in the ditch
And a wheel on the track
Oh, Alabama
Banjos playing through the broken glass
Windows down in Alabama
See the old folks tied in white ropes
Hear the banjo
Don't it take you down home?
Alabama, you got the weight on your shoulders
That's breaking your back
Your Cadillac has got a wheel in the ditch
And a wheel on the track
Oh-oh, Alabama
Can I see you and shake your hand?
Make friends down in Alabama
I'm from a new land
I come to you and see all this ruin
What are you doing Alabama?
You got the rest of the union to help you along
What's going wrong?
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I think that the line : "Your Cadillac has got a wheel in the ditch and a wheel on the track"
implies that the state of Alabama (the "Cadillac") is finely balanced between taking the good path to redemption or regressing back into the bad.
Alabama is the first song I ever heard on Harvest. That made me buy the album without hearing any other song on it. Alabama remains my favorite Neil Young song. The hard beat and the earthy sounds of the guitar makes it an unforgetable tune. Listen to the instrumental part after "Don't it take you down home?" The drums, piano,bass and guitars are perfectly blended. Neil Young rules!!!!!!
@appleharvey This is my favourite Neil Young song too. You are right, the instruments are perfectly blended.
the way he says "oh alabama" with that bass drum in the background breaks my heart
actually you're both right...
thats true! Sweet home alabama was an answer song to both of these. Check the sweet home alabama forum on this site, band name "Lynyrd Skynyrd" in which I give a brilliant account of the song, if I do say so myself!
actually, i think skynyrd wrote his about neil young's "southern man"
Isnt this the song that Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote Sweet Home Alabama in response to??
This is one of my favorite songs on Harvest........as for the feud between neil young and lynyrd skynrd....ive heard that it didnt really exist but then ive heard that one of the skynrd guys was buried with a neil young t-shirt
this is about well like the title says it Alabama. As you know if your a real fan of Neil like me he is totally against racism.
See the old folks
tied in white ropes
Your Cadillac has got a wheel in the ditch And a wheel on the track
Ronnie van zandt was buried in his Tonights the night t-shirt...neil was a pall bearer at his funeral...neil wrote powderfinger for skynyrd but they didnt do it.
there was no feud.
I don't believe that Neil was a Pall Bearer. It's one of those rock star myths that the public seem to have accepted without any real foundation. My understanding is that the fued was real to start with but Neil called Ronnie to straighten everything out and they got talking and realised that they were both on the same side and became relitively close thereafter. I love the line in Sweet Home Alabama that goes "In Birmingham they love the Governor, Boo, boo, boo" in reference to George Wallace. At first I didn't pay attention to the Boos but listen to it again, they are clearly boos for the Governor and his racist stance against intergration. Ronnie is wearing a NY T shirt on the Street Survivors album cover - It's believed that Neil personally chose to wear the t-shirt to quash the story of a fued. Sadly 3 days later, we all know what happend. Of course, I can't be completely sure of any of what I've written as I've gained this info from numerous sources, none of which were Ronnie or Neil.